Finding Courage: Alumni

Finding Courage: Alumni

Sarah Lawrence Magazine Spring 2016

Out of the Ashes

When Sara Bruya '97 transferred to Sarah Lawrence in 1995, the student newspaper had just folded because the entire staff suddenly quit. Bruya, who had been an editor of her high school newspaper, quickly rallied a handful of her classmates (including co-editor Alexandra Zobel '99). Out of the paper she says had "crashed and burned," they launched the aptly named Phoenix the following year.

After the launch, Bruya and her colleagues received a flood of supportive notes from faculty and staff. Frank Roosevelt (economics emeritus), who was featured in the first cover story, wrote that the paper was the "most impressive" he’d seen in nearly 20 years. Jules Cazedessus ’95, then working in the Office of Public Affairs, told of a longstanding rumor that, years prior, The New York Times used to scour the Sarah Lawrence newspaper looking for story ideas and suggested Bruya add the Gray Lady to her mailing list.

Now managing editor of two journals at Harvard’s Hutchins Center for African & African American Research, Bruya recalls the early Phoenix days fondly. "It was a really positive experience," she says, "building something from scratch, learning about all the interesting things the faculty were doing, and getting to know the community."

Upon learning the newspaper she founded is still a vital part of campus life—even maintaining some of the original sections—Bruya says,"It's thrilling."

—Suzanne Guillette MFA '05

Photo Caption: The inaugural issue of the Phoenix featured First Lady Hillary Clinton and Frank Roosevelt (economics emeritus) at the dedication of a statue of his grandmother, Eleanor Roosevelt, in Manhattan’s Riverside Park. Photo courtesy of the SLC Archives.